Handle assembly for flexible box

ABSTRACT

For &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;flexible boxes&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; that have lower ends similar to bags and upper ends that are made like folding boxes, this invention provides a construction having a handle which is permanently connected to one of the panels at the top of the flexible box and that is &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;upside-down&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; as compared to handles of shopping bags. Because of this upside-down orientation, the handle can be attached to the box panel by a machine, and the handle is in a position in which it is out of the way when the flexible boxes are flat and stacked.

United States Patent Inventors Leonard E. Canno New York;

William l-LF. Grob, Babylon, N.Y. 837,490

June 30, 1969 Mar. 2, 1971 Equitable Bag Co., Inc.

Long Island City, N.Y.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee HANDLE ASSEMBLY FOR FLEXIBLE BOX 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl. 229 54 B65d 33/12 Fieldof Search 229/52, 52

(AC), 54, 54 (C), 52 (AW), 52 (AL), 63

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1940 Cantor 229/52-A.C.

2,992,768 7/1961 Gatward 229/54-C 3,339,822 9/1967 Pearl 229/54-C 3,464,620 9/1969 Canno et al 229/54 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,088,632 10/1967 Great Britain 229/52-AC Primary Examiner-Raphael H. Schwartz Attorney-Sandoe, Hopgood and Calimafde ABSTRACT: For flexible boxes that have lower ends similar to bags and upper ends that are made like folding boxes, this invention provides a construction having a handle which is permanently connected to one of the panels at the top of the flexible box and that is upside-down" as compared to handles of shopping bags. Because of this upside-down orientation, the handle can be attached to the box panel by a machine, and the handle is in a position in which it is out of the way when the flexible boxes are flat and stacked.

HANDLE ASSEMBLY FOR FLEXIBLE BOX BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION For many uses, shopping bags are being replaced by flexible boxes which are constructed at their lower ends like a bag with square or envelope bottom, or any modified bottom; and the upper end of the flexible box has a panel construction analogous to that of an end of a folding box with stiffeners bonded to the material of the front and back panels to provide the desired stiffness and strength for the box structure. A handle at the upper end of the flexible box holds the top closed. Such a flexible box is disclosed in my patent application U.S. Ser. No. 691,270 filed Dec. 18, 1967, now Pat. No. 3,447,736.

One of the principal problems that has been encountered in the commercial development of flexible boxes has been the relation of the handle to the flexible box. Handles could not be attached by machines such as are used for applying the handles to conventional shopping bags. There is no simple and inexpensive way for attaching the handles, and flexible boxes were supplied to users with handles separate from the rest of the structure. The user had to attach the handle manually to a top panel of the flexible box.

When handles were attached by the manufacturer using hand labor, the cost of the flexible boxes was increased substantially. Since the principal use of flexible boxes is by stores for packaging merchandise purchased by a customer, the cost must be kept low or the stores cannot afford to use such containers for their merchandise.

This invention provides a handle construction which can be applied by a machine when the box is manufactured. The improvement is essentially in combining a particular kind of handle with a particular orientation to a top panel of the flexible box.

More specifically, the invention utilizes a stiffly flexible handle which is easily bent to the bail form desirable for the handle, but which has sufficient stiffness so that the free ends of the bail can be reliably held in an extended position over a top panel of the flexible box while being fastened to the panel by staples or other suitable fastening means.

The flexibility of the handle must 'be such that it can be bent sharply beyond the last fastening to extend-upward substantially normal to the panel to which it is connected, and to carry the full weight of the flexible box and its contents when flexed into such a position. The material best suited to use as the handle of this invention is a plastic tube and when this tube is stapled to a panel of the flexible box, the tube is collapsed locally at the staples so that the tube is tightly gripped. The full cross section of the tube beyond the staples adds strength to the connection since the handle cannot pull through the staples without collapsing progressively beyond the staples. The stiffness of the plastic handle resists such collapsing and thereby adds greatly to the strength of the connection.

In the preferred construction, the handle is applied upsidedown," i.e., the upper portion of the handle is toward the lower end or bottom of the folding box. When the top panels of the container are folded, the handle moves into a plane extending transversely of the height of the box. When the handle is flexed into a position normal to the panel to which it is connected, then the midportion of the handle is uppermost and in position for conveniently carrying the flexible box.

Connecting the handle with this upside-down orientation has the advantage that the handle is in a position where it does not interfere with the location of mechanical means for connecting it to the bag; and the handle is located over the front surface of the box throughout the full extent of the handle when the flexible box is in its original flat condition and stacked with similar flexible boxes. The handles are, therefore, within the stack as opposed to the projecting handles of stacks of shopping bags.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view of the upper end of a flexible box with the flexible box opened up to receive merchandise and before any of the panels are folded in the process of closing the container;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the upper end of the flexible box partly closed;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the upper end fully closed; 7

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view on a reduced scale showing the entire length of the flexible box illustrated in FIG. .4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A flexible box 10 has a front panel 12, a back panel 114 and ,side panels 16 and 18. The front, back and side panels, and the bottom of the flexible box 10, are preferably of one-piece con struction. The construction illustrated is one in which the flexible box is made by folding a web lengthwise of the width of the flexible box so that the front side and overlapping seams of the flexible box constitute the width of the web, and the flexible box is formed with a lap seam 22. Other constructions can be used and the flexible box can be made with a square bottom such as used for conventional bags or with an envelope bottom at which the front panel 12 and back panel 14 come together. The construction of the lower part of the flexible box depends upon the kind of merchandise for which it is intended to be used and the volume of such merchandise.

The flexible box 10 is preferably made of paper and the weight of paper depends upon the size of the flexible box and the service for which it is intended. It can be lighter than conventional shopping bags because of the way in which the upper end of the flexible box is strengthened by stiffening panels and the way in which the load on. the container is transmitted to the carrying handle. .Pliant materials other than paper can be used, if desired. The material and the'printing or other decorations affect the cost and must be determined by the ultimate use of the flexible box. A stiffening panel 26 is bonded to the upper portion of the front face l2 for a distance equal to the fore-and-aft depth of the upper end of the flexible box, as indicated by the dimension arrow D, in FIG. 1. The

,upper end of the stiffening panel 26 is preferably even with an upper edge 28 of the front face 12. The lower end of the front stiffening panel 26 is indicated in FIG. 1 by the broken line 30.

There is another stiffening panel 32 secured to the back panel 14. This stiffening panel 32 is preferably of substantially the same height as the stiffening panel 26, and it extends from a top edge 33 of the back panel 14 to a line 34 in FIG. I. Both of the stiffening panels 26 and 32 are preferably bonded to the confronting surfaces of the front panel 12 and back panel 14 by adhesive. If desired, this adhesive can be a plastic coating which bonds by heat. It is preferable to have the stiffening panels 26 and 32 on the inside of the container.

The back-stiffening panel 32 has diagonal score lines 40, each of which extends from a location adjacent to the bottom corner of the panel 32 and at an angle of approximately 45 to the bottom edge or line 34 of the stiffening panel 32. In order to obtain greater flexibility at the score lines 40, there are preferably slots 42 along portions of the score line 40. The score lines 40 extend to the top edge of the stiffening panel 32. and thus provide triangular areas 44, at both ends of the panel 32, attached to the main portion of the stiffening panel 32 at the score lines 40 which serve as hinges for the triangular areas 44. In place of the slots 42, incised score lines can be used with spaced slits or slots alternating with short sections of the stiffening panel extending across the score lines.

A handle 46 is attached to the outside of the front panel 12 by staples 48 and 50. The staples 48 are located close to the center line of the stiffening panel 26, i.e., substantially midway between the upper edge of the panel 26 and its lower edge at the line 30. The staples 50 are located closer to the upper edge of the stiffening panel 26, and are shown substantially midway between the staples 48 and the upper edge so as to distribute the fastening means along the length of the handle 46 and across the area of the panel 26 above the center line. Staples provide a strong connection between the handle 46 and the top part of the front panel 12 and they provide a fastening means that can be attached easily and quickly by mechanical means. Special stapling attachments can apply all four of the staples 48 and 50 simultaneously while a retainer holds the handle 46 in bent condition at the selected location on the front of the flexible box. The handle 46 is preferably a stiffly flexible plastic tube of sufficient resilience so that it can be collapsed fully to the condition illustrated in cross section in FIG. 2. The full-diameter portion'of the handle 46, illustrated by the reference character 46a, in FIG. 2, can not pass through the staple 48 without being collapsed to a flat condition and thus the stiffness of the material of the handle 46 prevents the handle from pulling endwise through the staple 48.

Polyethylene or similar plastic tubes can be used for the handle 46. Solid handles can be used but they do not have the advantage of the collapsed connections shown in FIG. 2 and for the same amount of plastic, they do not have as large an area for contact with the fingers of a person carrying the flexible box. Flat strips of material can be used for the handle and can be stapled to the front of the flexible box, but while flat strips have the advantage of providing a greater area of contact with the fingers of the person carrying the box, they have the disadvantage that they do not provide for localized collapsed areas as described in connection with FIG. 2 and they are not as easily positioned by mechanical means when attaching the handles by machinery. For ideal mechanical operations, it is desirable to have the end portions of the handle which are to be stapled sufficiently stiff so that they can be held in position by gripping thembeyond the portion over which the staples are placed.

The stiffening panel 32 has a slit 56 extending through it and through the back panel 14. This slit 56 is preferably made without removing any material from the stiffening panel 32 or the back panel 14 so that when the handle 46 is inserted through the slit 56, as shown in FIG. 3, the edges of the slit 56 are distorted away from one another and they grip the handle 46 to provide substantial friction between the handle and the sides of the slit 56 for holding the box, as will be described more fully in connection with FIG. 5.'A slot, from which some material is removed, can be substituted for the slit 56, provided that the slot is narrower than the handle 46. A slot wider than the handle 46 loses the feature by which the handle also serves to hold the folding box closed in addition to providing means for carrying the flexible box.

The manner in which the flexible box is folded is illustrated clearly by comparing FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The upper portion of the front panel 12 is first folded inward along the line 30 and then the triangular areas 44 are folded down as shown in FIG. 3. This causes the upper parts of the sides 16 and 18 to be folded in along lines 60.

The handle 46 is then bent upwardly and the upper portion of the back panel 14 is bent forward along the line 34 to bring the slit 56 and the handle 46 into position where the slit can be spread sufficiently to admit the center portion of the handle 46.

As the upper portion of the back panel is bent down into a flat position shown in FIG. 4 to close the flexible box, the handle 46 is pulled upward. This relative movement of the handle 46 with respect to the top flap of the flexible box brings the portions of the handle 46, which are near the staples 48 toward the ends of the slit 54 where the slit does not spread so easily because of the proximity to the ends, and this increases the pressure of the sides of the slit 56 against the sides of the handle 46.

In the original construction, the staples 48 (FIG. 5) flatten the tubular material of the handle 46 for some slight distance beyond the staples, and this flattened portion extends into the slit 56. It will be apparent from FIG. 5 that this feature by which the sides of the slit 56 engage the partially flattened part of the handle 46 holds the bag closed more tightly because the handle cannot be pulled down into the slit 56 nor can the slit 56 rise as easily as if the sides of the slit engaged the full diameter portion of the handle 46.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, and the invention is defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

I. The combination with a flexible box that has front, back and side panels, and stiffening panels attached to the upper portions of the front and back panels and each of which has a height equal to substantially the width of the side panels between the front and back panels at the region of the stiffened upper portions of the front and back panels, of a handle assembly comprising a bail handle with end portions spaced from one another along the width of the front panel with the mid portion of the handle located below the end portions when the flexible box is open, and means connecting the end portions of the bail to the front panel and to its stiffening panel, the connecting means starting at a level approximately half way up from the lower end of the stiffening panel and being confined to the part of the stiffening panel which is between that level and the top edge of the front panel, the handle being made of a length of 'stiffly flexible plastic material which is resilient enough to bend, at the lower end of the means connecting it to the front panel, into a position that locates the mid portion of the handle in a plane extending substantially normal to the front panel and the flexibility of the handle being such as 'to carry the full weight of the flexible box and its contents when the handle is flexed into the position extending substantially normal to the front panel, and a longitudinal opening in the back panel in position for the midportion of the handle to extend therethrough when the back panel is folded over the front panel to close the box.

2. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the handle being made of a length of plastic tubing.

3. The combination described in claim 2 characterized by the fastening means being staples that collapse the tubing to a flattened condition at the region of connection of the handle to the flexible box. I

4. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the longitudinal opening in the back panel being narrower than the diameter of the handle, and the handle being compressed between the opposite edges of the longitudinal opening when the handle is inserted through the longitudinal openmg.

5. The combination described in claim 4 characterized by the stiffening panels being'on the inside of the flexible box and the handle being on the outside of the front panel and being of generally U-shape with straight end portions and the U terminating short of the upper end of the front panel, the fastening means being metal staples along the straight end portions of the U and with one of the staples at each end portion of the handle located approximately midway between the lower and upper limits of the front stiffening panel, the handle being flattened by the staples at and adjacent to the staples, and flattened portions of the flexible tubing extending through the longitudinal opening in the back panel near the ends of said opening, and the longitudinal opening being a slit from which no material has been removed and having its opposite edges displaced by the handle at its flattened regions for cooperating with the larger diameter of the tube beyond the flattened regions for holding the back stiffening panel down against the front-stiffening panel to maintain the flexible box in a closed condition. 

1. The combination with a flexible box that has front, back and side panels, and stiffening panels attached to the upper portions of the front and back panels and each of which has a height equal to substantially the width of the side panels between the front and back panels at the region of the stiffened upper portions of the front and back panels, of a handle assembly comprising a bail handle with end portions spaced from one another along the width of the front panel with the mid portion of the handle located below the end portions when the flexible box is open, and means connecting the end portions of the bail to the front panel and to its stiffening panel, the connecting means starting at a level approximately half way up from the lower end of the stiffening panel and being confined to the part of the stiffening panel which is between that level and the top edge of the front panel, the handle being made of a length of stiffly flexible plastic material which is resilient enough to bend, at the lower end of the means connecting it to the front panel, into a position that locates the mid portion of the handle in a plane extending substantially normal to the front panel and the flexibility of the handle being such as to carry the full weight of the flexible box and its contents when the handle is flexed into the position extending substantially normal to the front panel, and a longitudinal opening in the back panel in position for the midportion of the handle to extend therethrough when the back panel is folded over the front panel to close the Box.
 2. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the handle being made of a length of plastic tubing.
 3. The combination described in claim 2 characterized by the fastening means being staples that collapse the tubing to a flattened condition at the region of connection of the handle to the flexible box.
 4. The combination described in claim 1 characterized by the longitudinal opening in the back panel being narrower than the diameter of the handle, and the handle being compressed between the opposite edges of the longitudinal opening when the handle is inserted through the longitudinal opening.
 5. The combination described in claim 4 characterized by the stiffening panels being on the inside of the flexible box and the handle being on the outside of the front panel and being of generally U-shape with straight end portions and the U terminating short of the upper end of the front panel, the fastening means being metal staples along the straight end portions of the U and with one of the staples at each end portion of the handle located approximately midway between the lower and upper limits of the front stiffening panel, the handle being flattened by the staples at and adjacent to the staples, and flattened portions of the flexible tubing extending through the longitudinal opening in the back panel near the ends of said opening, and the longitudinal opening being a slit from which no material has been removed and having its opposite edges displaced by the handle at its flattened regions for cooperating with the larger diameter of the tube beyond the flattened regions for holding the back stiffening panel down against the front-stiffening panel to maintain the flexible box in a closed condition. 